I never thought I’d say this, but Miss Jessie’s was able to draw me back in with their SUPER SOFT GEL, Jelly Soft Curls-“The Best Darn Super Soft Gel Period.” After 2 unsuccessful attempts with samples of Baby Buttercreme, gave up on the entire company. The super scented creme kept my hands smelling yummy for days, even after washing them a million times. Unfortunately, it left my hair in one giant fuzzball. No shine, moisture, definition, nothing. So, I slapped some SheaM. CESmoothie on top to make it a million times better. The second time around, I slapped some Smooth N Shine Diamond Dazzle Gel and ORS Curls Unleashed No Restrictions Moisturizing Cond. to make it work better. When I heard about their Pillow Soft Curls, most of the reviews said the smell was too overwhelming, like Downy Fabric Softener. I gladly passed on trying another heavily scented Do-Nothing hair product. It might work, but for right now, I am beyond satisfied with Jelly Soft Curls. During our summer trip to NC, the clearance aisle at Target was mostly comprised of marked down sample sizes of natural hair products such as Karen’s Body Beautiful and Jessicurl. Umm, I don’t need to waste over $3.00 on sample sizes. So, the hair aisle had many things reduced and low and behold, a few of Miss Jessie’s products. I could never condone spending $30-50.00 at their normal retail on some of their products, but the gel was marked down to $11.40 from $14.00, and it was the only one there. It was meant to be. The pink and white 8.5 fl oz tube says it’s “excellent...

Spring/Summer…Where do I begin? Well, first of all, we really didn’t have a Spring. Try telling that to my allergies. I still had to use Allegra and tried the new Mucinex Allergy too. Started on the meds long before spring was supposedly here. It was more like Winter, then Summer came in steady. Also, I thought it would be better if I just did faves based on the seasons instead of month-to-month. And as usual, life happened which caused the delay. I don’t know how I’m going to get better at getting my feelings out right when things are happening instead of just wallowing in sorrow. In May, my family suffered another blow. My aunt Crlyn from New York/Va. Beach passed away. She was diagnosed with colon cancer right after we saw her during the holidays looking and feeling so good. However, by the time she went back home, stomach pains became persistent and before you knew it, they were wheeling her up to the oncology floor. A tumor was wrapped around her colon. Surgery and chemo for a few weeks, then she unexpectedly breathed her last breath. As mentioned in an earlier post, A broke her finger, potential buyers visit the house, but still no offers to buy, my grandma-in-law, Elaine, passed away during our first week back to school, and the weekend before Autumn officially began, my step grandma on my dad’s side passed away. Funny man, Robin Williams, shined a brighter light on depression after his shocking suicide, and funny gal, Joan Rivers, was taken away due to medical negligence. I should also add that one of...

A few days ago, my neighbor, Jill, sent a message stating she did a deep conditioning treatment using cucumber and sour cream on her hair. Two shampoos later and her hair still smells sour. I told her to try rinsing with the smelly goodness of apple cider vinegar by massaging her scalp, then follow up with a moisturizing conditioner. Apple cider vinegar has antibacterial properties that should be able to clarify out whatever stink is left on the strands. She’s used it as a facial toner, but never considered using it on her hair. Apple cider vinegar is “a type of vinegar made from cider or apple must and has a pale to medium amber color. Unpasteurized or organic ACV contains mother of vinegar, which has a cobweb-like appearance and can make the vinegar look slightly congealed,” according to Wikipedia. I’ve seen the phrase, “with the mother,” on brands such as Bragg, but didn’t have any idea what that meant. The Bragg containers mention “Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used it for its amazing natural cleansing, healing and energizing health qualities” circa 400 B.C. You can use it as a cleansing agent in replacement of Windex or some bleach-laden scrub. Claims have recently been made that it can also be used for weight loss, portion control, and regulating blood sugar. WebMD quotes Carol Johnston, PhD of Arizona State University as saying “its anti-glycemic effect is well-documented. It blocks some of the digestion of starch by preventing some of it from being digested and raising your blood sugar.” Of course, you’d have to dilute it with water or its acidity could ruin your tooth enamel and burn your esophagus-www.webmd.com. That acidity...

I love deals, getting deals, sharing deals-who doesn’t? We’re living in a time of financial ambiguity, so when I said that I noticed some SheaMoisture products marked down at Wal-Mart, people ran. Yes, ran. And I don’t blame them. However, when I posted it on Facebook and made sure to say that it was on select products, I failed to say that it’s probably just at our local store. Oops. I did make sure to say that no matter what the store is, check the clearance section first. As I have pointed out in earlier posts, this area doesn’t cater to people of color very well and even though SheaMoisture and the other natural hair companies include Caucasian curly girls in their ads, the products are usually stashed in the “Ethnic Hair Aisle,” therefore, they naturally forget they can use them too. So, I’m not surprised with the markdowns. That doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a very reputable brand. None of the products expired or looked/smelled spoiled. The Argan & Raw Shea Extra Moisture Conditioner w/Sea Kelp (gold label) was marked down to $5.00 from $9.98. It’s a “leave-in or rinse out conditioner that detangles, moisturizes, repairs, and restores lifeless, damaged hair…For deeper conditioning, leave on for up to 15 minutes.” It contains certified organic ingredients such as sea kelp, Argan oil, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Vitamin E and Panthenol (Vitamin B-5) to “heal, grow, and strengthen dry, damaged hair in a sulfate free and color safe formula.” I stood there in enormous excitement about it, but then I thought to myself, “do I really...

After being in a long protective style for most of summer, I decided to work on K and B’s hair on the same day. Grand ‘ole plans, right? I worked my back to the bone, but it was a great opportunity to try some of the new products from the “Yolanda Renee Takes The DMV” VIP swag bag starring BelNouvo, Alikay Naturals, Carol’s Daughter and Eden BodyWorks. Both of them had been wearing twists since the weekend of the last day of school. That was June. So, Sunday the process began and didn’t really end until Tuesday. K: I deep conditioned her hair for a few hours with BelNouvo Creamy Castor Custard Deep Conditioning Treatment. I never heard of the company, but the creator was at the event and he was very nice in explaining the high quality of his all natural skin and hair care brand. You can find the entire line on www.etsy.com. The custard retails for $10.00 and is a paraben free, vegan treatment with ingredients such as Castor Oil, Safflower Oil, Rice Milk, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Pro-Vitamin B and “Inner Beauty.” It is truly a dessert in a jar. It reminds me of cheesecake with its vanilla custard scent. Next, I rinsed it out and washed/conditioned with the kids’ usual Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship line. Her hair was very soft and stretched with the BelNouvo product. Then, I moisturized with the 2oz Alikay Naturals Dulce Hydrating Curl Lotion, retails at $6.00, which has quality natural and organic ingredients including Vitamin E and Coco Butter in a watermelon scent for the night. I was very tired...

The very classmate who coined the nickname “Smiley” on me in high school, is the very classmate who is out there changing lives and continues to find the right words for the right time to that troubled soul, no matter who is reading/listening. On his Facebook page status this morning, the key word ‘suicidal’ touched my heart, so I knew I had to read the rest. It’s exactly what I’ve felt-recent deaths have befallen my family, our house is on short sale, life dragged us and is still dragging us to the bone. Then just as my good friend, I’ve had to ask myself lately if I’ve been trusting the One True God to do everything in his power for me to see things differently, to trust in HIM completely. It’s so difficult to even want to wake up in the morning, however I’m glad I did today to see this message at an opportune time. I thought it needed to be shared. You can follow Jacob Hobson for more ‘morning coffee’ inspirations on FB at https://www.facebook.com/jacob.hopson. Take a look: The moment you feel at your wits end… the moment you want to say screw the world… the moment you say the world will be better without me… I want to suggest to you that you have made God an option and not your only Choice!! This post is going to be kinda sensitive for me but i made it [sic] thru!!! Can i tell you that i have been suicidal…. Yes preaching, praying, and prophesying and STILL feeling like the world would be better without me, because nothing in my life...

I have to give a Shout Out to my neighbor, Jill Lang. She enjoys crafting, natural, organic food and products like SheaMoisture. She recently launched her blog at Argyle Cottage. Like me, she is a loving wife and mother who was sort of stuck in life, dreams on the pause button while teaching kids with special needs. I told her that from the looks of things, if someone isn’t going to give us the job we want, then we’re going to have to create it. To quote her, “So badly I want to be paid for the creative things I do. So this is the first step in holding myself accountable. You never know who may find it and like what you have to say. I’ve always been a “writer” and said to myself you just have to do this and put what you love out there. I majored in fashion design and minored in media studies because I wanted to work for a fashion magazine. So this will be my chance to have my own ‘magazine.'” Oh Yeah! She is truly venturing out, getting fit and wants to share with the world her lifestyle ideas focusing on creative living. Her posts will include topics about food, crafting, fitness, and other inspiring topics to her. Jill informed me that she can be contacted via personal email: jilllang11@gmail.com; blog email: argylecottage@gmail.com; and Instagram @argylecottage. Check out the brief ‘About‘ page from the site and show some love: About Hello! My name is Jill. Join me as I celebrate the everyday joy of living a creative life. I share kitchen adventures, inspiration...

I made it to my second hair event: “Yolanda Renee Takes Your City Tour-Yolanda Renee Takes The DMV.” Before that, she was in New York and made sure to do something for her area this time. I found out about the tour from her YouTube channel and checked out her blog to see if any of the cities would be near me. I was going to push myself into getting over the fear of making it to more events so I could continue to be inspired to blog. Side note: For those who may not know, the DMV I’m talking about doesn’t handle driver’s licenses and vanity plates. DMV stands for DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Might as well be one giant state altogether, right? Hubby drove because in usual fashion, I would have been too nervous to drive in that area. He did not mind, though, because he took D to see the new Disney’s “Planes” sequel, “Planes: Fire & Rescue,” for father/son time while the event went on. Saturday, July 26, the Maryland native had her Meet ‘n Greet at Bar 7, a sassy little “all black errryyyttthhang” nightspot with a bar, lounge area, stage and DJ booth located on 7th Street. I invited my cousin, Pinky, to go with me, so she and my mom arranged to come from NC the night before. My mom got to spend some girly time with my daughters. The 6-9pm event was $40 + tax for VIP if you didn’t pay in time for the early bird special at lower rate. To make sure I didn’t mess up our regular budget,...

Remember in one of the pics of my natural hair must-haves that included a spice I said I would talk more about? Well, believe it or not, there are hair benefits with the use of cayenne pepper. I love anything with hot sauce, so if I want to bring some heat to my scalp, I don’t mind at all. Every time I bring this up to my mom, she laughs and says, “OOOHHH NNNOOO.” She thinks it’s only going to burn her scalp right up. She probably fears for her eyes as well due to the 1st experience I told her I had with it by using it completely wrong. I was deep conditioning with some kind of conditioner one day and decided to pour some from my spice rack on top of the thinning area of my crown I noticed from excessisive use of a half-wig while I was transitioning. I got the idea from one of the natural websites I regularly frequent. I rubbed it in and it stained my fingers so much that I had to scrub them several times. Moving on, ALERT: Embarrassing moment coming up! Use extreme caution! Well, after the deep conditioning process finished, I hopped in the shower to rinse and this is where the stinging of the eyes and lips came in. So, as much as I like the heat, I haven’t tried that again. However, I still believe there is the possibility for potential growth from using cayenne pepper. I realized that next time, I think I’d better mix the ground spice into something till it’s fully dissolved, then rinse...

I’ve mentioned a few of my must-have natural hair products before, but to get a better idea of what I can truly say has worked for my kids and I, take a look at the pics above. We’ve tried many different kinds, but these are our holy grails, our proven staples, our tried and true. From the store, from the kitchen, from the fridge, from the pantry. I know some of the hardcore naturalistas will probably disapprove of the L’Oreal stuff or the gel or whatever. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters is what’s worked very well for us. And I’ve decided to continue using the brand of coconut oil pictured until I feel comfortable with spending more money on another brand. I’ve seen some at $9.99, $6.99, $8, $10 and more. Those prices may seem nice, but for the amount of ounces, they weren’t. I have 5 heads and 6 bodies to coat with this oil. Poor hubby is balding more. No more head & shoulders for him. All he needs is his fave body wash to double as a shampoo to clean what’s left. I asked about better brands at an affordable price to groups I associate with on Facebook like #TeamNatural and Natural Folkz (or was it Natural Hair). One particular answer stood out. The nice naturalista said to use the cheaper version on your hair and skin, but use the better/pricier version in your food. So, for now that’s what I’ll do. For cooking, I recently bought the non solid version by Carrington Farms for $7 and some change for a 16oz. bottle. A few other women...